Fans, critics greet U.S. chamber chief

U.S. Chamber of Commerce chief executive Tom Donahue got a warm welcome from the audience attending the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry’s annual meeting today. After the Brooklyn native gave a spirited speech praising the job-creating power of business, one attendee asked if he had a clone who could run for president.

Donohue

But outside the Seawell Grand Ballroom at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, where Donohue spoke, sentiments were less friendly.

“Thomas J. Donohue, we’ve got the dope on you!” chanted a group of about 10 protesters on the sidewalk. Earlier, they had entered the ballroom lobby and attempted to confront the titans of Colorado business gathering inside for lunch. DCPA officials called the police, who kept the group almost out of earshot from CACI’s gathering.
“Those protesters don’t bother me. I’ve got a big guy with me,” Donohue quipped.

“We’ve got to remember who we are. We’ve got to say to those people who have other beliefs, ‘We’re not going to pay a lot of attention to you.’ We’ve got to get busy building things, creating jobs, improving quality of life in this country,” he said.

Donohue said the economic downturn has “shaken Americans’ belief in capitalism and market economy, and we must restore it to its proper place.” He added that the protesters also need to be “put in their place.”

Donohue criticized President Barack Obama’s healthcare plan as too expensive and the Environmental Protection Agency for being overzealous. He said Obama’s job-creation plan, which would rely on cutting tax breaks for top earners, is misguided.

“It doesn’t make much sense to drive up taxes on job creators when you’re out there trying to create jobs,” he said.

Donohue said the U.S. has more energy reserves than nearly every other country, and that tapping those would create hundreds of thousands of jobs. He advocated a dime increase in the federal fuel tax to fund infrastructure improvements and said foreign visitors should be treated better by security and customs agencies to promote tourism.

The U.S. Chamber chief has strong Colorado ties. Two of his adult children live here. He said Thursday that former Republican National Committee chairman Jim Nicholson, who lived in Colorado for many years, and former Colorado Rockies owner Jerry McMorris are close friends.

I’m so tired of hearing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce complaining about other people’s ideas for fixing our problems. How about making some suggestions of your own other than eliminating taxes, environmental & worker protection! Bringing back the Robber Barons is not a fix.

mark1138

Demand creates jobs. More pollution won’t create jobs. Tax breaks won’t create jobs. And what a hypocrite – he’s basically saying don’t tax the rich or eliminate tax breaks for corporations. Instead, tax the people who drive for a living, and have to drive to work for a living. How’s that for “class warfare”?

http://westernwoman.myopenid.com/ westernwoman

>>”It doesn’t make much sense to drive up taxes on job creators…”

It’s the small businesses that create jobs…not the behemoths that are paying their executives multimillion dollar salaries. Those companies are busy laying people off to consolidate their profits and to pay their executives more. Another thing. The Chamber doesn’t support clean energy development. That is where the jobs are. Boulder is creating jobs at three times the rate of the national “clean economy” because it’s focusing on clean energy specifically. http://www.dailycamera.com/boulder-county-news/ci_18465219

Laura Keeney writes about aerospace and airlines for The Post. When she's not at work, you can usually find her taking in live music, reading voraciously, or doing something science-related and nerdy. She also loves The Clash ... a lot.

Emilie Rusch covers retail and commercial real estate for The Post. A Wisconsin native and Mizzou graduate, she moved to Colorado in 2012. Before that, she worked at a small daily newspaper in South Dakota. It's the one with Mount Rushmore.